It’s a PG or PF

Just had our media availability with general manager Larry Riley. He said, pretty much, the Warriors are looking at taking a power forward or point guard. I will have more on this later, but I walked away feeling like it’s down to two people: Jordan Hill and Stephan Curry.

Curry is not a natural PG that can run a team. I hope it’s Jennings (true PG) or Holiday (upside of a true PG with great size and defensive ability). Flynn would be an OK safe pick with not much upside.

I hope the Hill talk is just a smokescreen. This year’s PF’s (with the exception of Griffin) suck. If we take him, I hope it’s because we have a nice deal in place to land a young, proven PG.

A’s in 2009

FYI, Jordan Hill sucks. The only reason he’s viewed as a top 10 pick is because the bigmen in this draft suck. Just like how sucky POB was a top 10 player in the sucky 2006, the quality of bigmen sucked in that draft too.

Yeah Twinkie…well put…but it’s fun and now I have incentive to buy USA Today all week and look at the thumbnail sketches of the players out there….tend to agree Curry, although very talented, isn’t a true point….trade down or package and trade all the way up to get Rubio…

MRFJG_SON

Don’t know what to think anymore, everything I keep hearing about Hill is that he is a better version of mickey moore. If that is the case no thanks. Interesting though someone called into KNBR today and asked about Hill and Fitz glossed over the fact that Hill couldn’t shoot very well and instead just focused on how he could rebound. What he failed to mention is that when Nellie gets a bigman that can’t shoot, they ride the pine and eventually rot away on the bench or get sent down to the D-league, unless your Kurz. To me it seems that Nellie has always favored shooting over Reb b/c if the team gets up and down and you have a big 4 that can shoot you get your matchup problems without having to mix it up too much in the half court.

Now I can’t say that I have watched Hill play a lot in the pac-10 this past year but the big drop-off at PF after Griffin should be something to worry about. Come on Dubs just draft a PG.

Thomas

Jordan Hill does not suck. He is just not what this team needs right now. If the Warriors traded Brandan Wright then it might make sense, however Hill and Wright are probably the same player, with Wright more athletic and Hill a better rebounder. I would rather take Curry than Hill, but I would prefer a trade with Chicago for both of their picks. This team is not going to win now, even with Nelson and Rowell and Riley wanting to win now. They should take Lawson with #16 and BPA with the #26. I just don’t trust anyone, aside from Rubio or Curry, to produce in this draft that will be available at #7. My preference is Tyreke Evans, but I think he will be long gone. Who knows, it’s the Warriors, so anything is possible.

manhattanproj

if you’ve watched any arizona games, you would know jordan hill is a good player. he got some post moves, a good rebounder, and is developing a mid range jump shot. on the defensive end, he’s a good post defender and a shot blocker.

either curry or hill would be a good pick for the warriors.

Perry

No difference makers, team changers, great players or immediate impact players in the 2009 draft, save for Griffin.

That being said, the Golden State Warriors need to look to existing, established talent that has proven they can impact a team and help their squad win games.

The list is short, but here are the only players on the face of the planet that can help our young squad:

None of these players will be acquired by the Golden State Warriors…….and of course, I am being sarcastic with 97% of my list……….

But there are definitely some feasible options,

Unless we acquire an NBA difference maker like the guys on my list, you can chalk up another 50 loss season, ladies.

You can pretty much take a 50 loss season to the bank unless we look to established NBA players to add to this team.

In 5 months from now, if we take the Oracle floor with a starting squad of:

1. Ellis
2. Jackson
3. Maggette
4. Randolph
5. Biedrins

or any viable mix and match combination, for example, sliding Crawford into the 1, moving Monta to 2 and Jackson to 3…………..we will be setting ourselves up for failure.

Great teams just don’t transform in 1 offseason because their players are working out 3 times a day.

Just take a look at the teams that made it deep into the playoffs and eventually won the title.

Great players, role players that understand their roles and their positions and responsibilities on their teams; great, proven coaches, defensive and offensive philosophies and legitimate “go to” 4th quarter options.

Right now, we are a team comprised primarily of role players and 2nd and 3rd option, we have a “so so” coach who’s stubborn, a brand new GM with no legitimate track record and a questionable ownership group.

Not exactly a winning formula in the National Basketball Association.

But again, you guys are the experts, I don’t know anything.

Steve

Naturally, as a Warriors fan, I’m always hoping they nail the draft. With their overall drafting history that usually doesn’t happen, but at least this decade has produced Biedrins, Ellis, and Randolph. Not bad for GSW. Where I seem to stand alone going forward is my take on the potential for last year’s team. I like these guys! They can play, and they WILL get better. The Warriors were the youngest team in the NBA last year, and brutally-young teams don’t win in the NBA. Take away Monta Ellis for most of the season, play 24 of your first 38 games ON THE ROAD, and abstract failure is guaranteed. Yet, despite everything working against these guys last year, the Warriors still managed to have a winning home record (21-20). They defeated Utah and New Orleans twice each (home and road), and also had wins over Philly, Dallas, Phoenix, Atlanta, Indiana, Boston, and Denver. Everyone raves about Portland’s young talent, but in 3 meetings with the Blazers GSW won twice. Throw in tough last second losses to San Antonio and Cleveland, and the Warriors proved that despite their losing season this was a team with legitimate hope for the future. Players like Randolph, Wright, Ellis, Biedrins, Morrow, Watson, and Belinelli are all 24 or younger. These guys will continue to get better with experience and work. Turiaf and Maggette will be better now that they have a season in Nelson’s system under their belts. Stay healthy all season and this team will have a dramatic turnaround from last year, regardless of who they draft. With better rebounding they’ll be better defensively, and with AR playing from the get-go GSW will be much improved in that area. Some say the Warriors need to get bigger and beefier inside, but with AR, BW, AB, and Turiaf, the Warriors have 4 players 6-10 or over. Where’s the beef? How “beefy” is Pao Gasol? You don’t have to be huge and muscular to be a dominant inside player in the NBA. AR, BW, and AB are all built very similar to Gasol, and will likely be physical mirror images once they reach Gasol’s age. If the Warriors get another Randolph (talent) in this year’s draft, great. But I’m more excited about their current roster. Keep the majority of these guys together, add a free agent or two in the coming seasons, and watch as the Warriors, along with the so-called “powers” of the Western Conference, do a complete 180 over the next 5 years.

Tdubb

Everyone quickly forgets that we never saw a complete Dubb’s playing roster. Nelly doesn’t get a pass but some piece of his squad was injured all season long. We need to see the whole show before we just write them off.

As for the draft, a power player would be nice but Nelly doesn’t play those guys and that’s why he will never advance in the playoffs if he gets there.

Until that team has a leader that is dominant on and off the floor, it will always be a team of nice pieces. It’s rare that you can draft a leader. Ask Denver, it didn’t happen until Chauncey suited up.

Sterl

Is curry really a PG or a SG? It seems that by drafting him would put us in the same situation we have w/ Monte…having an undersized SG and waiting to see if he can play point. Not to mention we’d have one of the worse defensive backcourts int he league. We need a pass first PG who can make up for Monte’s lack of defense. I say go big in the draft and go after Andre Miller in a trade.

Perry

5 years is an awful long time to wait for a team to do a 180, “Steve”…….how about the last 25 years we’ve been waiting for this team to do a complete 180?

It’s just a continuous ongoing cycle…….

“Steve”…you should also include names like Gilbert Arenas in their successful draft history because he really is the best player they have drafted since Anfernee Hardaway and Chris Webber ( I actually can’t remember if these 2 were involved in the same deal for one another….. if so, then only 1 of them was drafted by us…..I just can’t remember).

Jason Richardson, not a bad player to draft as well.

Point is, we lost all of our best drafted players.

I love Monta and Andris, Randolph is ok……but they are nowhere near Gilbert, Anfernee or Chris.

Also, “Steve”…….you scoff at Portland’s success and say we played well against them……..fine, I accept that……but that same Portland team took about all of abouy 2 years to rebuild themselves and do a “complete 180″………so they are way ahead of us as an organization. Roy, Aldridge, getting rid of problem players like Randolph and being aggressive in draft day deals, picking up McMillan and they have found themselves as the best young team in the NBA, in my opinion.

Another example of a team that quickly rebuilt itself and did a complete 180 is the Chicago Bulls……..after the firing of Scott Skiles, the fiasco with Ben Wallace, ……..losing Tyson Chandler,….the back and forth bargaining with Ben Gordon……the unsure future of Kirk Hinrich, picking up Larry Hughes and the first year or 2 after they drafted Noah…….they were in shambles as an organization.

It took them all of about 1 year to get Vinnny Del Negro, re-sign Gordon, retain Hinrich and add the best player in last year’s draft (Rose) and they took Boston to 7 games and played a fantastic 1st round series.

My point is, other teams take less time to do a complete 180. It’s not about waiting another 5 years…….we’ve waited for 25 years, my friend…….you should know that.

Perry

The reason why Warrior ownerhip continues to stab us in the back is because they know, that as fans, we are very patient with our team……….

Any other shitty team in the league: Charlotte; New Jersey struggle to draw attendance and are in danger financially. Charlotte was about ready to file for Chapter 11 last year, because nobody came to their games and marketing efforts were not panning out.

In the NHL, Phoenix just filed for Chapter 11.

Not too long ago, on this blog site…….a blogger wrote something to the effect that Warrior ownership is a lot smarter than we give them credit for.

I actually agree with that statement. Warrior ownership knows that a lot of fans like “Steve” are willing to be patient and be entertained with a young, losing team as long as they score 109 ppg.

Smart owners know their market and they know where their money comes from.

The Bay Area NBA fanbase is very knowledgable and loyal. We love basketball in the Bay Area and Warrior ownership knows that.

They knnow they have leverage, they knnow that as long as they put an exciting team on the floor, forget about wins……but as long as they score 109 ppg and lose 50 games in a season, Warrior fans will come out in droves into Oracle.

Look at Memphis, Oklahoma City………these teams don’t draw because they are bad.

Even halfway decent teams with star talent like New Orleans; struggles to draw.

And here are the Warriors, a 50 loss team that packs Oracle to the limit for every home game.

Warrior ownership knows they have us by the balls and they are raking in the money and laughing.

Any other team anywhere in the country that was as bad as the Warriors would struggle with their fan base and their attendance would take a nose dive.

The examples are all around the league…….next year, when you watch a road game against Memphis, just look around at the stands…….the Warriors are barely better than Memphis, they definitely have less exciting players than Memphis (Gay, Mayo, Gasol)……..and still, the Warriors seem to sell out the big games and draw decent home crowds since the 2006-2007 “We Believe” playoff push.

Why? Because we are too patient with our team……..onwership takes advantage of that….

Perry

My point is , “Haven’t we been patient enough as Warrior fans?”

If we were any more patient…….we would be dead.

Look, 3 playoff appearances in 30 years and we still pack the Oracle against L.A., Cleveland, Boston,……even mediocre teams.

How much more patient can we get?

Don’t you guys want our team to be mentioned with the likes of the Lakers, the Nuggets, the Spurs, the Blazers, the Cavs, The Celtics………? Don’t you guys want that?

Or are you happy with watching Anthony Randolph run around the floor, commit stupid fouls and turn the ball over………..so we can end the season with 50 losses?

When are we gonna stop sugar coating everything.

This draft stinks…….it’s all hit or miss players after # 1.

That is not where the Golden State Warriors are right now.

We need a “for sure,” “surefire”, can’t miss acquisition that will be guaranteed to improve our team right away……..

We are soooooooooooooooooooo far behind the good teams in the West that it must be a joke to them to even look at the Golden State Warriors on their locker schedules……they must look at that and laugh and make jokes…………

Perry

And don’t start spewing hatred my way just because you guys are “homers” and I tell it “like it is”

I love this team just as much as anybody else and I would love nothing more than to see them succeed.

That is why I am hard on them.

I just continue to see other great examples of organizations that rebuilt themselves with a clear objective and a clear plan………….while we’re still trying to figure out how to win 40 games.

MRFJG_SON

Sorry Steve your assessment of waiting for the current roster just to be healthy is a little off. Even if they were fully healthy, they are probably at best 38-43 win team and in the west that will just not cut it. I actually think that they would have maybe hit 40 wins last season but that won’t get you into the playoffs.

They just need a change in the FO and ownership and that would make a world of difference in changing the teams culture. Obviously that is wishful thinking but if we have the same squad we had last year going into this year it is gonna be another bad year.

OREGONGUY

Steve, I’m having a little problem with some of your logic. EG that we are making a mistake supporting the team when they don’t have a good product. Let me ask how Seattle fans feel about losing their team? A little differet situation, but if we don’t show up will the team go away?

Perry

I actually take the “glass is half empty” approach as opposed to “Steve”‘s “glass is half full” approach with this Golden State squad.

Last second losses to San Antonio and Cleveland actually exposed the 2 most glaring problems we had………..

1. No legitimate “go to” option in the 4th to attack the rim and draw fouls, putting the pressure on the defense

2. Absolutely 0 idea of the “team defense” concept

That Lebron James buzzer beater at Oracle was terribly defended.

The play was a disaster from the inbound pass.

You had 3/5 of the Warriors with their backs to the ball, # 1 rule in defense, watch the ball, follow the ball, keep your eye on the ball.

Those losses depress me more than they make me happy.

Rather than saying, “We were close, we could have won”…..those last second losses and 4th quarter meltdowns do more to show how much we’re lacking……than how much we have.

We have some major, major holes to fill……Defensively and offensively…..those need to be addressed or else we will find ourselves in the “Loser” group in the West,……you know, …..with the usual suspects like the Clippers, The Thunder, the Grizzlies…..

Perry

How did we not jump in on the Richard Jefferson sweepstakes??

Was Larry Riley even aware that he was being shopped?

Now, who knows, RJ might have said, “Trade me to a contender”

But, coming from Milwaukee, I think anythign would have been an improvement for the guy….beggers can’t be choosey and let’s face it, he played for New Jersey too, not exactly a haven for NBA players.

The Spurs dumped a bunch of washed up garbage and picked up a legitimate wing player who attacks the basket in the half court as well as the open court.

He is similar to Corey Maggette, he is more athletic than Stephen Jackson…I think Richard Jefferson would be the #1 or #2 best player on a team like the Golden State Warriors.

Anyway, just another potential acquisition that went by the wayside…..

Perry

Not saying Richard Jefferson is the answer……please don’t get me wrong……in fact, he definitely is not the answer.

The point I’m making is that the Spurs are active, at the very least, in trying to improve their squad and become a contender again.

What have we done so far?????????

Worked out a bunch of rookies that don’t really want to play for us?

Fired our GM and replaced him with a new one with years of experience but no real success record to speak of?

The Warriors need to draft a post player, only if he truly is a POST. The Warriors have Randolph (who I love, think he’ll be a star), and they have Jamario Davidson. Wright is gone. Or he needs to be.

Randolph is the future for the W’s, but he doesn’t have a post game. He’s a perfect PF for a transition offense, but when the Warriors are forced to play a half court game, they lack anyone who can score in the post, or defend the post.

If Hill is that player, the W’s should draft him. They should trade BWright; package him with Crawford for a veteran point guard, someone who can show Monta the ropes. Maybe a sign and trade with Dallas??

If Hill turns out to be a player, Randolph can play some at the 3. That would actually be a BIG GSW line-up, something we fans almost never see.

The only point guards I’d draft for the Warriors would be Steph Curry and Ty Lawson. Forget Jennings, Holiday or Flynn. We need someone who can help now.

bnellydadon

I am not a Hill fan, I do not see sucess for him in the league. If they have a deal in place fine.

If they plan on keeping the pick I say draft Ty Evans. Evans is a safe pick, if he is really a pg we have the second coming of Penny a 6-6 pg. We could slide Monta to the 2 and have Ty guard the taller guys on D. If he does not develope into a pg he is a decent sg/sf its a safe pick to me.

J-Hill looks like a bust i see Sheldon Willams.
Jennings Has to many question marks, he has the tools to be great but I dont see the drive or attitude.

I am a die hard Warrior fan but I am mentally preparing myself for another rough year.

Oregonguy

Re 22. My bad. Steve I actually liked what you said, it was Perry that I meant my comment for. The risk of sneaking in a peek at work just as the office manager comes in and flinching over ‘submit’.

There’s a lesson in there somewhere.

Steve

#28 Oregonguy, LOL. Hey, with the draft coming up your manager can’t expect total dedication to the workplace. I’d love to see the Warriors brass sit back and watch this team perform healthy for the first half of the season and see what they could do. Personally, I think they’d surprise lots of folks, especially those who post 7 days a week on this blog. Simply, the good teams in the west aren’t as good as they used to be, and the lesser teams are getting better. The Western Conference is going to be an all out scramble this coming season, and I think the Warriors will be right in the mix. Do I think the Warriors will stand pat? No, even though sometimes the best moves are the ones you never make. I just hope whatever they do works. I will say my confidence is higher with Don Nelson as coach, and for good reason. As lousy as GSW has been over the better part of the last 35 years, the Warriors have been a winning organization with Nelson running the show. Nellie’s coached 783 games for the Warriors, and has a winning record (396-387), which includes 6 winning seasons and multiple playoff appearances. Not bad for such a downtrodden franchise. Oregonguy, BACK TO WORK! 🙂 Ciao

Perry

“Oregonguy”………I never implied that we should boycott the Warriors and stop supporting them.

I simply implied that the Golden State Warriors are one of the worst teams in the history of the NBA.

We are about 20 years away from a Championship and 5 years away from being a winning playoff team.

If you’re sensitive about that issue, “Oregon”..keep living in denial like your close friend, “Steve.”

Perry

Western Conference is not going to be an all out scramble because we pretty much already know who will be in the top 8: